Metallic bellows are used in many applications such as flexible joints, torque couplings, rod seals, and pressure sensors. Typically, these metallic bellows are formed from thin metallic diaphragms which are stacked in the desired configuration and then welded together. The diaphragms usually are formed from thin gage strip or sheet metal stock and have a configuration which lends itself to nesting resulting in a number of benefits, viz., less storage space is required, a large number of diaphragms can be handled simultaneously decreasing handling expense and minimizing the possibility of damaging the individual diaphragms, and the possibility of injury to the person handling same on the sharp stamped edges is minimized. The primary disadvantage of nesting is that there is a tendency for adjacent diaphragms to stick together due to the close match of their contours and the minute residual particles remaining on the surface of the diaphragms from the forming process. Since each metallic diaphragm must be separated from the stack in which it is nested and individually welded to another diaphragm, this tendency of diaphragms to stick together severely hinders the automation of this welding process. Various approaches have been tried to separate and dispense individual diaphragms from the nested stack, however, these approaches have proven to be unsuccessful. Because of this, it has become desirable to develop a simple, inexpensive means for individually separating and dispensing diaphragms having a wide range of diameters and thicknesses so that the welding of same can be effectively automated.